Everybody's Fool
by Jaime McBane
Summary: Shortly after Martha leaves, the TARDIS breaks down from a worn-out Tempus Crystal. The only problem in replacing it is that the only other one in existence is in the hands of his former companion, Tegan. Or more accurately, Tegan's daughter who hates him
1. Chapter 1: Broken TARDIS again

Chapter 1: Broken TARDIS—Again

A tall, lean, and rather dashing young man called the Doctor tinkered about with the controls of his time traveling spaceship. He had an extreme intensity about him with his dark eyes staring forward at the various diagnostic screens; throwing a look over his shoulder at the empty chair where his former companion Martha would sit before she found she couldn't stand seeing people dying anymore—much like his dear friend, Tegan….

_No! Now is not the time to look back. I must look into the future_ he thought to himself, straightening out his blue suit jacket briskly; brushing an uneasy hand through his unkempt blown-away brown hair; keeping his brain turned off to the memories aching to flood past the gates.

A loud warning bell sounded from the machine's computer as a number of the lights started flickering erratically then shut off.

Promptly pivoting on his converse heels, the Doctor studied the vast data before him blinking, beeping, and begging for attention. "Drat!" he spat, smacking the mainframe bitterly; tearing away to the other control center within the labyrinth of rooms in the TARDIS he set up in one of his previous incarnations. Ripping open the panel connecting to the hardware that ran his blasted machine, pulling out a small shattered crystal the color of fresh blood, he groaned. "No! No! No!" He moaned, punctuating each word with a heated but rather pointless slap to the computer, "The Tempus Crystal is broken!" Instantly, his mind went to work to think of a solution. "That was my last one--!" He sighed dejectedly, slamming himself down childishly; having his own version of a fit, "Damn that Master and his tinkering. Blast him for getting away _again_!"

Well it was supposed to last for a thousand years his mind slammed back moodily. It ran him through the memory of repairing the same problem previously, maybe twenty or so years ago.

"Doctor?" a haughty beauty with a cut little dark pixy cut asked timidly, still rather bewildered by the rather erratic behavior of this new incarnation; finally fixed on his personality and habits. She cut an alluring figure with her lovely dark eyes, long legs and her cute little purple stewardess outfit she first stumbled into the TARDIS in.

"Yes?" He replied popping up his endearingly sweet face with a lovely blonde mop from under the hardware (back in his fifth incarnation) as he was dressed in a nice and normal cricket outfit (with a piece of celery pinned on of course).

"Watcha doing exactly?" she pipped curiously as the impish red-headed figure of Turlough kicked back with a tattered book titled "Mainly Mostly" stamped in big green script across the front nonconclusively.

"Well," he replied in a calm, measured manner that most teachers get when explaining the fact that rabbits and lions are not a good idea for a "buddy system", "I'm just replacing an old Tempus Crystal that broke from age with a new one so we can get back to our journey."

"What's a Tempus Crystal do, Doctor?" Turlough inquired with a raised eyebrow as he looked over his book.

"Well," he said, sitting back up to converse properly, "It's a very rare crystal found on the planet Hadju Prime that controls the fluctuations that happen as we travel through time. The Spatium Crystal controls space such as between me and yourselves or as great as here to Gallifrey at the edge of time and space."

"Simply smashing!" Tegan drawled sarcastically, "If one of these little rocky things breaks we're stuck!" steamed the ever lovely hothead.

" Well we won't have to worry about that for about another millennia or so, so no worries! Here you can have the extra one if you fancy." The charming Time Lord smiled his lovable grin, pressing the spare stone into her hands before returning to his work.

"Thanks Doctor!" She clamored happily, carefully placing it in her pocket.

The current Doctor's eye's shot open- brought back to the present with a jerk, "That's it!" he declared to no one in particular. He burst to his feet, running to the main control room at top speed.

Doing his thing: he shifted various levers and hit the correct buttons; heading a course to the present just outside of London. "I'll just get the crystal back from Tegan!" he let the memories pour of his times with her, not forgetting when she showed him the crystal-turned-into-a-pendant before she left, "Just hope she still lives there."


	2. Chapter 2: Bittersweet Reunion

Chapter 2: Bittersweet Reunion

Tegan Jovanka, now dubbed Tegan McBane, trudged into her living room in her pink bathrobe and slippers. Though she was nearly in her fifties now, she still struck a striking figure in just her robe; her dark hair now in a graying bob cut. Time had been kind to her, giving her no severe aches or pains—just the psychological pain in her heart she felt each day as she passed her wedding picture or the rooms where her two darling children once slept in; left exactly like it was the day they all left. She had faint wrinkles around her eyes that gave her a sad look about her now that she rarely smiled anymore.

She was about to turn on the tele and watch the cheap sappy soap opera that she planned to lose herself in during their special rerun of the entire season, when she heard a brisk knock on her door.

"Wonder who that could be?" she pondered aloud to no one in particular, heaving herself up out of her comfy chair to her door. Filled with curiously, she popped her head out the door.

"Yes? Can I help you?" She asked politely when she found a serious young man so skinny he was all bony knees and elbows with spiky, tousled hair; his hands shoved in the pockets of his long tan trench coat as he stood on her stoop. He didn't look like any of the farmer's sons who lived near her; that much was for sure, but she had to hold in a laugh when she saw that he was dressed in a nice suit with those sneakers that all the kids were wearing.

"Hello Tegan." He greeted cheerfully as he flashed her a dazzling grin that showed a boyish playfulness she missed about him before.

"Do I know you?" She retorted with some of the fire she once had as she suspiciously eyed this gentleman, who she never laid eyes upon in her life, and who, also, apparently felt he was on friendly enough terms to call her by her first name.

Once again he flashed that ridiculous grin at her as he said, practically beaming to see her, "It's me: The Doctor."

"Doc?" She whispered in disbelief, touching his face to see if he was real flesh and blood.

He was.

Tears flowed from her eyes in a mixture of happiness, sadness, and shear exhaustion from another sleepless night. "Oh Doctor!" She cried, turning away in embarrassment to wipe away the uncontrollable tears from her eyes, "I must look simply frightful!" she said indicating her indifferent choice of attire and hair as she stepped back to let him in.

"You look lovely." He murmured sincerely, giving her a smile so much like the Doctor she knew so well as he looked her squarely in the eye. She discovered in those eyes the playful twinkle of the Doctor she was first introduced to before he sacrificed himself to stop the Master's evil plans.

She led him into the immaculate dining room, utterly spotless; much more like the Tegan he remembered. She brewed herself a cup a coffee as she brought out a buffet of biscuits, crumpets, and strudels. "Hungry?" She asked with a ghost of a smile flecking her lips as she took a sip from her strong drink.

"Actually, very." He admitted with a cute little pout of his lips and a wag of his eyebrows as he sat at the sunken bar counter on a twirling seat.

"Well? Watcha waiting for? Dig in! You look like you barely eat enough, you skinny-ninny!" She barked playfully, cuffing him upside the head, "Eat!"

"Yes Ma'am!" He retorted, making a mockery of a salute if there ever was one. Shoving a good deal of a custard tart in his mouth he muttered something unintangible with bits of custard falling out his mouth on her clean counter, resulting in a sharp glance from her that set him right.

Swallowing heavily before repeating his statement, he said, "I parked the TARDIS in the back garden. I walked to the front door to be polite." He added with a little hopeful grin hoping that would win brownie points in her book before giving his chair a good spin; his long coat, the exact one he wore when she first met him, whipping wildly about him.

"Right should you; coming in here, out-of-no-wheres and such!" She puffed with fake indignity, a smile touching her eyes; giving them that fiery blaze that often glanced angrily at him when she…. before she left. Having satisfied her need to be angry, she slumped against the counter contritely

"What brings you here Doc, I'm sure it's not to just reminisce about old times sake."

He looked at her ruefully and sighed, looking at his hands then looked up at her candidly. "No, I'm not." He said quietly, "Actually, I'm here to ask if I can have the Tempus Crystal back that I gave you; the one you turned into a necklace—"

"--Yes, I know the one." She replied rolling her eyes to the heavens, "I may be getting older but I'm not completely mindless." She said with the old bite back in her voice. Years seemed to fly from her, showing the girl she once was; the girl he once knew.

"Good, then if it isn't much trouble: I'd like to have it back please." He countered, with a confident cock of his head as he gave her that infectious grin of his.

A shadow crossed her brow as she smiled sadly back at him, crossing her arms out of habit "I don't have it." A stab of alarm erupted inside him but he kept his calm as he asked her where it was. "I gave it to my daughter to remember me by…" She said turning away as she felt another wave of tears come against her will; spilling from her eyes like tiny waterfalls. In a spilt second the Doctor was up-and-out of his seat and at her side, hugging her as the whole story poured out.

She didn't marry the captain like she planned when she left. He didn't really like the idea of being tied to just one woman for the rest of his life, so he broke it off

She went into the nearest pub in London in hopes of getting her mind off the betrayal when she heard a local boy band playing loudly. The lead singer was hot with his long dark hair tied back into a ponytail, a pair of aviator glasses and a pair of tight jeans showing off the tight muscles underneath. There was something cool about him, different than the other wannabe rocker boys.

She moved close to the stage to get a better look at the group and especially the hottie singer. Much to her surprise, he seemed interested in her as well as she sat near the stage. In-between sets, he sidled up to her with a glass of whiskey in his hand and a sexy smile like something out of one of those American Western films. When he said hello it sent instant chills through her at his sexy southern American accent. There's no other word to describe him, just 'sexy'.

They started talking—it was instant attraction. Before long she had heard his life story in a nutshell in a-half-hour's-time: from a prominent southern family known for their engineering genius and such, so they sent him off to Oxford to study with the best of the business even though he wanted nothing to do with 'that life' as he called it and wanted to just perform. He was graduating in two months with his full degree and set to go back unless he finds 'a good reason to stay' he stated meaningfully to her.

She was holding up pretty well under the circumstances; getting her heart ripped out and looking for some sympathy and then finding this delicious specimen of masculinity practically dropped onto her lap wanting something more than just to share a crumpet with her. She knew she was in trouble when he whipped off those sunglasses and took her hand as he looked her in the eye unflinching. He had these piercing green eyes that made her feel like he could look right into her heart and feel her pain and longing or at least read her thoughts about him.

With a smile he pulled her onto the dance floor, by chance being a great slow dance that could really get you in the mood for love. He held her so gently, like he was afraid of breaking her if he held her too tight. She couldn't help but feel the heat bubbling up inside her at being so close to him.

She was noticing little things about him that made him even more perfect: his eyes were only for her, so tender and understanding; he was ditching playing with his band mates to dance with her; and the most dangerous of all: he had really sensual lips that she was aching to kiss.

She knew then that she was in love. _Really in love_. From there it just snowballed. They got married shortly after his graduation, a simple gathering of friends and family. The more she found out about him, the deeper she fell.

She knew this love was forever when she told him the news that he had to cancel his tour with his band because she was pregnant with his kid and he fell to his knees and cried; not bitter tears, but tears of joy. He sang to the heavens that he was going to be a dad and didn't care what he had to give up for them to become a real family. It was _so_ cute how he started writing a lullaby for any occasion; trying them out on the growing baby in her belly and waiting for one kick for yes, two for no.

Nine months to the day from their wedding day, little Jaime was born, named after her father when she wailed like a rock star at the doctors until her daddy held her and sang her, softly, her special lullaby. She became the center of both their lives, their love strengthening as they teamed up to raise her the best they could. Her grandparents doted on her heavily; sending the best of anything that looked totally cute from his parents and helping out where they could from hers.

She was the most beautiful baby ever; taking the best of her parents and none of their bad attributes almost as if she absorbed their good looks and added them together to make something breathtaking. She had her mother's color hair but her father's thickness. She had his lips and her cute nose. She may not have gotten her father's stunning eyes but she had his ability to pierce into your soul with a single look.

She wasn't just beautiful; she was amazingly talented as well. She mastered the piano at the age of four and was writing songs along side her daddy; picking up instruments like they were books and mastering them in as little as an hour's play.

Then came little Jesse, mummy's joy. He was so helpful, practically clinging to her leg as soon as he could walk. Where Jaime was avidly independent; he couldn't stand to leave his mother's side. Even being total opposites and now having to share her family's love, Jaime was a good older sister, even helping him strike-out on his own; soon he was a normal raging three year old tearing around the house with his big sis.

Ever since they were young, mum would recant her tales with the Doctor to her children: often leaving them waiting breathlessly for the next part of the story the following night. As they grew up, the Doctor became their "constant companion", taking them on fantastic adventures of their own or perhaps a reenactment of some of the better stories mum told.

They had hundreds of simple children's drawings and pictures of their adventures; Tegan showed the Doctor, most of them still plastered to their bedroom walls. One year Jaime made her brother a Stuffed Doctor, complete with a mop of blonde hair and dressed in a cricket uniform she made for him of his favorite team— even making a little stick of celery to stick to his suit.

James didn't approve of how 'obsessed' they were becoming of mere 'bedtime tales told just to get them to go to sleep'. That's where their perfect marriage started to have its cracks. Soon fights were started when she insisted they were true stories.

"He refused to listen to me or look at the necklace I made from the crystal you gave me. He simply wouldn't look me in the eyes anymore whenever 'the Doctor' came into conversation." She sobbed as she clutched one of her daughter's dolls to her chest as if it could fill the void in her heart as they sat on the floor in the children's room.

The kids were unaffected by the fighting, left to imagine what they would as long as it didn't get too out-of-hand. Jaime usually played the Doctor because she was the eldest, but occasionally, she let him control the game. It was one of those times when 'The Accident' happened that cost her son's life and her marriage.

James, mad with grief, blamed her and her 'delusions of adventure' for Jesse's death. Clutching six year old Jaime to him, to the point of it getting suffocating, he declared that he was leaving for America the next day and he was taking Jaime with him because it was too dangerous to leave her with an insane mother.

He left with Jaime to go to a hotel for the night, coming back alone to pack his and her bags. When he went to the bathroom, Tegan snuck over to her daughter's pack and slipped her necklace and diary of her exploits into her teddy bear that was her and mummy's secret hiding spot from daddy. On the last page of her diary, she wrote that she wanted her the necklace to remember her by and the diary to remind her to follow her heart and that daddy must never ever see them or the magic linking them together would break, she added with a poetic flourish.

She hadn't heard from him since he called to let her know they were settled in at their apartment in New York City.

The Doctor could tell that she had been dying to tell the tale to someone, at least someone who would believe her and maybe understand. She looked both relieved and so drained when she was finished. She had told him everything about Jaime; showed him every moment of her life, recanted every story, showing every video and picture she had of her and her little brother. He felt as if he was there at every step—like a doting uncle or something.

It was time now for him to leave; armed with more information about a person, he never even met before, than he ever thought possible. It was time for him to find her; not only to get the crystal, but also to reunite an aching mother with her beloved daughter and maybe even proving himself real to the hateful James McBane if he had to.

"How old would she be now? A teenager?" the Doctor asked gently one evening as he thumbed through Jaime's baby book, stopping on the page displaying the clump of hair saved from her first haircut as Tegan took deep draughts from her coffee cup.

"No," she coughed nonchalantly, "She'd be twenty-two years, seven months, and twenty-two days today." Noticing his sympathetic look, she said, "A mother keeps track of these things."

There was a pause of acknowledgement between them that it was time for them to part. He got up to leave, taking a bag of her gingersnaps she made that morning for the trip. He made it to the door when he heard her scramble to her feet as she ran to him with a desperate look.

"I don't expect miracles, Doc" she said sheepishly, "I know she's a woman now, not needing a mother anymore but…" she let her sentence trail, no need for words.

He leaned against the doorframe with a lazy smile "It is my understanding that no matter what age you are, you always need your mother." He said confidently, "besides, doing miracles is what I do best— you should know that" he added with a cocky smirk before disappearing into the night, slipping a clipping of Jaime's baby hair into his jacket pocket.

The Doctor entered his utterly familiar TARDIS, taking out the baby hair carefully; praying that Tegan will understand when she found a clump of her precious daughter's hair gone as he placed it in a special scanner. It collected the data he needed to pinpoint a location on her, via DNA, right down to the very building she'd be in at that very moment. "God I love technology." He mused happily as he, in-unison, pulled the necessary level to take him there and took a healthy bite from one of her gingersnaps.


	3. Chapter 3: Wrong Presumptions

Chapter 3: Wrong Presumptions

The Doctor opened the door of the TARDIS fearlessly, expecting to stumble on a miniature Tegan-clone in this girl, only to discover himself in a dark immaculate living room of a good-sized apartment. Taking a peek out the window he saw the familiar frightening landscape of downtown New York City in the dead of night. The shouts of drunken sots over the ever-present traffic were the only sounds to be heard.

"Right location then" He mused aloud; taking in his surroundings, letting his eyes adjust to the light. There were no personal pictures to look at in the spotless apartment; reminding him deeply of Tegan's meticulous psyche. The room was impersonal with no distinct sense of style to give some clue of the type of person he was to expect from his girl.

The only thing that really stuck out in the room was the extensive book collection crammed into two huge bookcases spanning from floor to ceiling. Checking the titles of the books, he saw an eclectic assortment with everything: _Complete Works of Shakespeare_, paperbacks of Agatha Christie, a rather worn copy of the both the _Odyssey_ and the _Iliad _among a number of others. The Doctor had to smile when he saw a book about planes shoved between a Latin dictionary and _A Dummy's Guide to Gaelic_. She was more like her mother than she probably realized.

His unquenchable curiosity about her was diverted by a movement in a room beyond the, now cramped, living room with the TARDIS parked right in the middle of the room for all to see. He followed his inquisitive nature and decided to investigate.

The Doctor found himself in a sparse bedroom dimly lit by the streetlights, dominated by this military issue type of cot. Tiptoeing closer to the sleeping figure, he looked down at this enchanting vision of a woman. Tegan was right when she said her daughter was beautiful, even more so than he expected. He let his eyes glide over the well-described features: the long deep mahogany hair creating a dark halo around her gentle face; yes she did have her mother's cute nose and almond-shaped eyes that supposedly were the color of melted chocolate when open.

Gingerly, the Doctor sat on the bed beside her, gazing lovingly at her as if she was his own child. She looked so peaceful as she slept, so innocent how her hand clutched at the pillow behind her head. In a blink, he found himself impassibly pinned by the supposed sleeping angel with a wicked-looking dagger pressed against his throat as she straddled his hips with ease.

His expectations of Tegan's daughter were shattered in that moment. The Doctor could've sworn this fierce wildcat was actually Leela's daughter with the cold vicious glare she was giving him; even her tussled hair added to the wild look about her.

"How the fuck did you get in my apartment?" She stated softly and dangerously; never releasing the constant pressure of the dagger or the icy hostile stare of her eyes that sent cold shivers down his spine. The Doctor wondered to himself what made Tegan love the gaze of those uncanny piercing eyes that made him feel rather uncomfortable as they fixated on him intensely.

"Hello." He greeted timidly with a weak smile, looking down at the obviously lethal blade with a fearful glance.

"Answer the question dirt bag." She stated coldly, pressing the dagger dangerously close to his skin. He could feel the cold steel start to bite perilously at his throat.

"In my spaceship." He stated honestly, hoping that she wasn't really prepared to kill him in a moment's notice as she looked. The Doctor was almost frightened to think what kind of man her father must be to spawn such a child.

"REAL funny buddy," she sneered as she looked down with total detest toward him, "Let's try this again; who are you and how did you break into my apartment?"

The Doctor sighed; knowing the only way to get out of this situation was to be totally open with her. "I'm the Doctor and I came in my TARDIS." Her eyes glinted in the dark, fixed with a sort of smile hovering on her lips, more terrible and more sinister than anger. She pressed closer to him so their faces were inches away. Hers was a scary mask of pure malice equivalent to the Master himself at his most wicked. It was getting awkward when he could feel the heat of her body radiating off of her as he realized just how dangerously close together they were.

"I should kill you right now you dirty liar." She said threateningly as she looked down at him with hate blazing in those fierce eyes that reminded him so much of his beloved Tegan but with none of her humor or light. The dagger stung as it pressed against his skin, feeling it give a nasty scratch right under his Adam's apple.

"You must be his son," She spat, her angelic face torn viciously with scorn, "You're much too young to have been the _supposed_ Doctor."

She pulled away with the blade still trained on his neck, her face now hidden in shadow but still just as menacing now he couldn't read her expression in the dark. "How did he do it, huh: drugs, alcohol, or hypnotism?" She asked mockingly, her voice seething with sharp bitterness.

"What are you talking about?" the Doctor replied, his eyebrow lifting in question as his mind tried to comprehend her bewildering accusations, "Whose son?"

"HIS son," She said intensely, grabbing his throat in a vice grip, "the bastard who tainted my mother with his 'stories' of their alleged adventures till she went crazy." She laughed smugly to herself as he looked up at her dumbfounded and speechless.

"Didn't think I'd figure it out did ya? And now here you are, impersonating that _same_ character? What did you think, that you could trick me like my mother? Well, that's where you were wrong buddy; I'm not weak like she was." She ranted, repositioning the dagger back to its former position with a look of sick pleasure to have him in such a position.

The Doctor's two hearts pounded loudly in chest, feeling the adrenaline rushing through his head as he felt the dangerous electricity flowing between him and her as she seemed to be set on killing him; a cold wave of sheer and utter terror running through him. Never before in his life did he ever feel such fear. Never.

"No! She's not crazy!" He replied desperately, feeling her father's influence in this, "She was telling the truth: I _did_ take her on trips through time and space. Your father was wrong!" That seemed to set something off in her; a younger softer her.

"What did you say?" She asked, her eyes wide in bewilderment, losing all that hardness about her; replaced with a venerable childlikeness about her

"Your dad was wrong: your mother _wasn't _crazy." He repeated, feeling the danger passing quickly, replaced by wonder and disbelief as she looked down at him with interest.

"How did you know my dad thought my mum was crazy?" She asked inquired with a look of suspicion, pulling away the dagger just a smidge from his tender skin involuntarily; enough to tell he was heading in the right direction during this interrogation.

"She _told_ me!" He sighed in annoyance, feeling the constant distrust very grating on the psyche after awhile. She scoffed him loudly before informing him quite firmly:

"That's impossible. Mum died in a plane crash sixteen years ago." Looking down at him triumphantly, finding the hole in his story like she was looking for as she clutched at a familiar chain of a necklace he had journeyed for around her neck unconsciously.

"No she's not." He replied just as firmly, fixing her with one of his intense looks, "I just came from her place not half an hour ago to get the Tempus Crystal".

"Impossible!" She retorted stubbornly, turning her face away in disgust.

"I did and I can prove it! My TARDIS is parked right in your living room at this moment!" She looked back at him with her beautiful determined eyes dancing with amusement.

"Alright _Doctor_. Prove it." With that she pulled herself off him with one graceful kick, crossing her arms in front of her arrogantly as if she already won the argument.

The Doctor led her out of the room and presented the TARDIS with a quick impatient gesture with both of his hands. She stubbornly huffed in disbelief. He growled in exasperation, now remembering Tegan acting like this when she lost an argument.

"If you mother died sixteen years ago— how could she leave you a note in her diary to you after your brother's death about letting you have them to remember her by, hmm?" She refused to look him in the eye, "Fine! Don't believe me? How about I take you on a little trip then?" He asked with his nostrils flaring, losing his temper a smidge.

"_Fine_." She replied snootily turning her nose up at him, acting nonchalant with a little sneer.

"FINE!" With a push, he opened the door to the TARDIS and stepped back politely to let her go first; never forgetting his manners no matter how aggravated he was.

Her eyes expanded to the size of saucers the minute she stepped into his ship. Not the plate type, the alien space ship type; much bigger. She stood rigidly as her eyes raked over the setting before her, trying to take it all in at one.

"Next stop: London!" The Doctor stated, smiling impishly at her, with a pull of a lever. Jaime jumped at the sound of the TARDIS setting off, shaking her head at herself for being so tense.

The Doctor took this short time to look over Jaime for real. She was dressed in just gray short shorts, showing off a killer pair of legs, and a simple oversized black t-shirt that proclaimed 'Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy— Benjamin Franklin' in fancy red script. Her demeanor was much like her mother's: proud, street-wise, and slightly arrogant but there was something very serious about her. She didn't smile easily, he could tell. Her delicate face was toughened by all the things she'd seen and done.

_What happened to her in her life that made her so jaded? _He thought to himself sadly as he looked at her. She was at the peak of youth yet she had the look of a person much older, at least in her eyes.

They touched down. "We're here." The Doctor chimed in a singsong voice in hopes of at least getting a crack of a smile from her but it was lost on her. Unperturbed, he walked out; eyeing him uncertainly for a moment, she then followed in suit sheepishly.

"Where exactly is 'here' anyway?"she asked; making a puff of warm air in the cold as she looked about them with interest as her arms snaked tightly around her from the chill while they stood in the middle of the woods. The cold was cutting into her; making her teeth begin to chatter. The Doctor smiled thoughtfully at her as he stripped off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders protectively.

"Your mother would kill me if you caught a cold." He joked, taking off toward the only house in sight with long determined strides.

"Hey mister, you didn't answer my question!" she declared, running to catch up to him before falling into stride with him.

"We're home!" He replied vaguely with a wag of his brow, stopping suddenly to look at her. He was smiling that maddeningly cheerful grin of his as he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, "And please: call me Doctor." He added sincerely before taking off again.

He lead her around the front of the house they came upon when they cleared the wood, grinning smugly as he knocked on the front door; the first rays of the sun peeking over the horizon, turning the clear sky a pretty color of pink. A movement in the trees caught the Doctor's attention for a moment but was soon forgotten the minute the door opened.

"Ello Tegan!" He greeted energetically with a wide smile to his former companion, his chest practically ready to burst with anticipation.

"Hello Doc. Do you know what time it is?" She asked wearily as she rubbed her eyes groggily, "I was just about to kip off to bed."

"Oh, I'd say about five in the morning or so." He drawled his eyes dancing playfully at her looking up at the sun to calculate the time.

Jaime was silent the whole time, standing in the background, just looking at Tegan with quiet fascination. The Doctor threw a smile at her before declaring proudly to his old friend as he took a step back so she could see her daughter clearly:

"Tegan, I'd like you to meet Jaime McBane: your daughter." Tegan's face broke into joyful disbelief.

"Jaime? _My_ Jaime?" she stammered as she fixed her daughter with a look of wonder. With a nod from him, she launched herself at her kid; hugging her fiercely to her as if she never was going to let her go ever. Tears were streaming from her eyes as she looked her daughter in the face; touching it tenderly with her hand. She turned back to the Doctor with a look of such gratitude it was tear-jerking "Thank you Doctor for returning me my little girl; thank you!"

She went to hug him when a shot was heard. Tegan fell into the Doctor's arms, a mortal gunshot wound in her chest. His eyes searched the surrounding area for the perpetrator, fixing on a suited figure running to a car; he recognized it as one of the Master's men when he was parading around as Saxon. Tegan's breath was coming in raggedly as he laid her gently on the ground, still holding her tightly to him.

"Can't you do anything for her?" Jaime pleaded desperately as she fell to her knees; never taking her eyes away from her mother's ashen face.

"No, it's a mortal wound." He replied coolly, pushing a strand of hair out of his friend's face as he waited for the inevitable with a cold heart.

"Doc," She breathed, fading fast, "Doc, I want you to take care of Jaime. Guard her for me. Promise me that." She asked as she gripped his arm tightly; a desperate need in her eyes.

"I promise you." He replied earnestly, steeling himself for his friend's death. Tegan's eyes closed at that for the last time, her face taking on a peaceful look.

"Mum?" Jaime murmured hesitantly, getting no answer, "MUM!!" She screeched pitifully, as she shook her mother vigorously; feeling no response. Instead of breaking down and crying like he expected, she stood coldly and asked, "Who was that man?"

"He was one of the Master's men…my greatest enemy." he added, "Must have been trying to hit me when…" He said, letting his sentence trail as he looked at Tegan mournfully.

He lifted her into his arms and carried her into the house; placing her on the couch and folding her hands properly before turning away in his grief. "Let's get going." He said finally after a long silence of them just standing there unsure of each other's company. She followed silently; her eyes closed-off to the world as she just looked forward at the TARDIS. He could sense something detached about her that worried him; it wasn't healthy to turn off your emotions, especially for humans who lived and breathed by their feelings. He wrote it off for the moment, focusing on the moment on trying to befriend his newfound companion and charge.

The Doctor gave the silent Jaime a tour of the TARDIS, ending at her new bedroom (not telling her it was the one her mother used when she traveled with him). She followed him indifferently, not really paying any attention to what he had to say as she glared at everything in sight. He felt sorry for her when she closed the door to her room to be alone. He vowed he'd do anything in his power to try to get her to open up to him.


	4. Chapter 4: Surprise Feelings

Chapter 4- Surprise Feelings

The Doctor suspended the TARDIS in space after getting the crystal from Jaime in hopes of letting her time to mourn her mother's death before setting her off on crazy adventures with him. When she didn't leave her room for some time since her first night with absolutely no sounds from the room but loud dark obnoxious music blaring, he brought a tray of pancakes and fruit; and knocking on her door before entering.

He found her reading a book surprisingly, finding that she had already changed her room around to her liking. It reminded him of an English study with the dark hardwood paneling, with a massive curtained bed dominating the room; reminiscent of the kind you'd find at those fancy private schools parents love to send their kids to.

"Brought you something to eat." He yelled brightly over the music, trying to add some cheer into the rather somber room.

"Whatever." She replied coldly, rolling her eyes at her book; never taking her eyes away from the page. He sensed that he wasn't really welcome, and decided to leave her to book and her food.

"I'll come back in an hour for the tray."

When the Doctor did come back, he saw the food completely untouched and her still reading that same book. "Come on, you have to eat something!" He said responsibly, sitting on the edge of her bed as he tried to read her face. She shrank away from him frostily, ignoring him completely. The Doctor sighed helplessly, "You can talk to me you know that: I'm your friend."

"No you're not." He thought he heard her mutter, "Just leave me alone."

He got up with a look of pity at her, grabbing his tray on the way out. "I can get my own food thanks." He heard her call out to him. Those words hit him hard; feeling the bite hidden in the meaning.

The only time the Doctor saw her was when she had to eat or go to the bathroom; rejecting his company when possible. It hurt him to be receiving the cold shoulder from a person he cared very much about. How she found new books was beyond him, as he saw her plow through twenty books in three days. Now it was time to change tactic.

The Doctor called Jaime into the main control room, smiling at her in a very friendly fashion; leaning leisurely on the control system. He was dressed in his usual blue suit and trench coat.

"So, where do you want to go?" He asked with an easy smile, hoping that maybe over an adventure they could bond. She rolled her eyes at him and turned and started walking away settling instead into Martha's chair as an afterthought.

"Go where you want. I have to finish this book." She replied, swinging her legs over the arms of the chair indifferently before delving back into the world of the book.

The Doctor stared at her blinking, "Right…" he drawled

_Well if she doesn't want to go with me, I'll just go where I want…where do I want to go?_

Looking around the room for inspiration with a hope that something might pop out at him so he didn't look like a git in front of her; but nothing stuck out besides Jaime as she totally ignored his existence. Then it hit him: well if the present Jaime wasn't willing, maybe a past one would. With a secretive smile he set the TARDIS to go back in time about ten years.

The TARDIS landed smoothly in some greasy back alleyway behind a huge rubbish bin with a mountain of reeking filth reaching toward the heavens, covered by a thick cap of snow. Lovely Christmas carols were wafting through the air from the streets signaling the coming of Santa Claus and the baby Jesus. He could tell it was New York City just by the smell.

The Doctor followed the alleyway out, passing beggars and homeless people crowded together in cardboard boxes, clutching newspapers in hopes of keeping some warmth in the bitter cold. The Doctors heart ached for these forgotten people, wishing there was something he could do for them- but he had no money. Maybe he could give out some food and blankets…_yah, that sounds good._

Plans of kindness danced in his head as he planned out the most efficient cause of action to take when he reached the mouth of the alleyway facing the main road. He saw a newspaper tumbling along the sidewalk; chasing it down, catching it barely before an angry strong gust of icy wind whipped around in a furious flurry for having its plaything stolen. The screeches of young children's laughter filled his ears as the wind bit at his ears spitefully.

The date said December 24, 1995. "Off by two years- not bad!" The Doctor mused aloud, "That'd make her about…ten? Ten years?"

BAM! A young girl ran into him hard from behind, knocking him headlong into a deep snowdrift. Her male friend, a small wide-eyed boy dressed in jeans, a huge blue winter jacket and a warm red knit cap that covered his ears, disentangled them; pulling the Doctor to his feet, soaking wet.

"Oops! I'm so sorry mister! I wasn't lookin'. We were playin' tag and all and he was IT--" she squeaked in explanation; her speech flavored by a slight accent he couldn't place.

She was a dizzying beauty with a sweet round-cheeked face framed by dark snowflake-flecked lustrous curls tumbling softly to her shoulders. Her eyes were dark and liquid in the fading light as they sparkled innocently. She was dressed in a worn brown leather jacket a few sizes too big for her, jeans, a serious black cowboy hat with matching black cowboy boots. The Doctor looked at her flabbergasted as she threw him the most charming innocent smile as she hopped back and forth from foot to foot to fend off the cold, crossing her arms around herself tightly.

"Don't lay the blame on me! Playing tag was _your_ idea!" the boy retorted back, shoving her roughly.

"Shut up!" she hissed, shoving him back. A chuckle escaped the Doctor's lips at their playful bickering as he brushed off his jacket.

"J.C., what did I tell you about runnin' off girl!" a loud booming voice yelled, thick with the Southern patient drawl. His new friend flinched, turning back to the direction they ran from.

Standing there was a tall handsome man dressed in identical attire to the girl; brown leather jacket, black hat & boots, with an addition of cool aviator glasses. In his hand, clutched with ease, was a black guitar case. Even from a distance, the Doctor could see he was pissed.

"Sorry Dad! We was just jokin' around an' all!" She called back as he strode up to them. On closer inspection the Doctor saw the man had pitch-black hair clipped short, curling around his ears just right. Something about him was familiar, like a forgotten memory or something as he gave the girl a tender scowl.

"I am so sorry sir. My daughter doesn't usually act like this." The man said with an apologetic sigh; cuffing the girl tenderly on the back of the head.

"No problem really." the Doctor replied crinkling his eyes at the kids in a friendly way; now placing the accent as the same as her father's with a hint of something else, "Kids will be kids right? Rambunctious lot, aren't they?" he said with raised eyebrows. The man nodded back wearily.

"Please—let me make it up to you. Let me be buy you a drink." He gave his hand in greeting; taking off his sunglasses, "James McBane." The Doctor's eyes widened in surprise.

"James McBane you say?" he asked, his eyebrows rising high on his brow, "and who might you lot be?" He asked the young boy and girl— already guessing her answer.

"Adrian Coates." The boy murmured with a shy smile. Her answer couldn't have been more opposite.

"Jamie Carmen McBane, at your service, sir." She declared with a dramatic flourish of a bow, "But my friends call me J.C." With a flash of a bright grin lighting her face, she took his hand. "You simply _must_ come hear Dad play— he's the best there is!"

"J.C., you don't even know if he likes country." James sighed tiredly, already exhausted by their endless amount of energy and it wasn't even dark yet. The Doctor gave him a brilliant grin.

"I love country, well, I love music really—but country _is_ a type of music after all, is it not?" He said ponderingly at breakneck speed, getting giggles of amusement from the kids.

James' eyebrow snaked up in question but thought better of it "Ok then…just follow us. J.C., take this; you begged me to let you carry it in the first place" he said handing her a guitar case before slipping on his sunglasses coolly. Little Jaime took it obediently, putting on her own pair of sunglasses with a free hand. The Doctor smiled at her adorable adoration for her father—evident in her imitation of him.

The Doctor followed them down the block to a little honky-tonk called "Cowhide" with Jaime bouncing as she walked happily alongside her father. It was a warm bar with tall tables, tall stools, and a friendly crowd. It was a good size, enough to fit maybe 200 people at the most if you crammed them in the rustic rough-hewn rafters.

The kids lead the Doctor to a table near the small stage after peeling off their jackets and winter hats; sitting on the high bar stools as James and his band set up. A number of people called out to her by name with familiar waves, some people simply just patting her back as they passed by. She bounced happily up and down on her stool, smiling brightly at everyone; a blithe spirit about her.

"Dad plays here a lot." She explained when she noticed his look, straightening out her oversized black t-shirt.

"OOOH… I see. You must really like music then."

"Like it? No I _love_ it!" She squealed, spinning on her stool gleefully, "My whole world _revolves_ around it! One day I wanna be just like Dad; playin' and singin' for the masses. A crusader of the arts; a warrior for the soul, 'cause that's what music is" she said wistfully, leaning close to him confidentially; her words simple yet curiously passionate, "It's an expression of the soul—the inner parts on your very being. You can move _millions_ with a single song." The radiance of this child dazzled him as she spoke well beyond her years.

One of the performers, the drummer and a good-humored man in his early thirties with a bright purple spiky Mohawk, laughed heartily at her idealistic speech.

"You been listenin' to your dad for too long lassie." He joked, his voice dancing with his true Irish lilt as he rolled his eyes playfully. She stuck her tongue out at him showing him two fingers on her right hand in a backwards peace sign with a smirk.

"Cheeky little--" he growled, going back to his drums in a huff.

The Doctor's face was plastered with shock at her revealing the very rude display of her middle and pointer finger. He never thought an American would know what its intention was. She smiled at him mischievously, pressing her finger against her lips for him to keep her secret. With her other hand, she signaled to the bartender.

"Yo Pork chop! Three beers please; two for us and one for our guest!" The man chuckled, bringing out three dark bottles; setting them in front of the right person accordingly. Jaime winked at the Doctor as she waved it at him, showing him that theirs were actually root beers.

"So what do you two plan on being when you grow up?" murmured the Doctor curiously as they slugged back their respective drinks with big cheesy grins like they were pretending the really were drinking beer.

"I already said: _I'm_ gonna be an international rock star—preachin' my message of peace and love to the thousands, _the millions_, _THE BILLIONS_!" declared the young girl—punching the air with a bright grin; her words simple The Doctor grinned back as he leaned his bony elbows on the table.

"You know, that's actually rather hard to do—become a famous rock star I mean. Lots of hard work in that; lost of hardships." He murmured with a faint smirk. Even though his words were those of a realistic reprimand, his eyes with dancing with delight.

The girl's eyes shone brightly as she made a tough fist in front of her, "You'll never meet anyone _half_ as determined as myself."

"Or half as talented." Adrian interjected meekly; blushing when the two of them turned to him with interest, "I only want to hang out with Jay...to stay with her. I'd act as her roadie if I had to as long as I could stay by her side."

A big grin plastered itself on the Doctor's face, adoring the sweet albeit indirect declaration of love from the young boy.

"How do you to know each other?" He asked when he saw her lean on Adrian's shoulder with a tired smile; looking unspeakably endearing, "You're not going out are yah?" the Doctor teased as he flashed them a playful look. They coughed and sputtered, spiting out their pop from their mouth.

"Hell no! Are you insane?" Adrian declared defensibly.

"Eww! He's like…my best friend! Yuck, yuck, yuck." She repeated childishly, pulling a disgusted face.

"I bet you two will get married when you grow up." The Doctor pipped, continuing the tease.

"Ugh! Everyone says that!" They chorused, rolling their eyes in disgust in unison.

A man signaled for quiet as the music started. The Doctor recognized the song as Tim McGraw's "Don't Take the Girl", a lovely ditty about a love starting when they were kids, all the way up to when their own son falls in love. The Doctor took this to be a sign from above that the kids were meant to be together, especially when Adrian sang along; not missing a word. He was about to say that when he looked over at the young Jaime and saw a breathtaking sight—he just couldn't take his eyes from her; totally enthralled.

Her eyes were shut in concentration as her head bobbed and weaved with the rhythm, making a harmonious beat with her hands on the table. A smile crossed her lips as she lost herself to the music; completely engrossed in the moment of just enjoying the song. How she could stay perched while moving about like that on the stool without falling off was beyond him. It brought a smile to his lips—it didn't matter anymore what songs were playing: she had his full concentration.

The night went on with song after song, progressing well into the night. The crowd, slightly buzzed, was laughing loudly at the antics the children pulled from pulling off ingeniously simple pranks or just belting out lyrics at the top of their lungs often purposely off-key just to be obnoxious. The bartender disappeared for a moment, coming back out dressed as Father Christmas with a cheesy beard and all. The mob laughed hysterically at his appearance with two big Christmas gifts in bright wrapping. He ho-ho-ho-ed cheerfully, catching two pairs of rolling eyes from the kids.

"I just came in from the North Pole realizing I forgot to give two kids their gifts!" he chuckled, faking a deep voice. Adrian and Jaime brightened; eyes widening greedily. "But!" He said, before they could launch themselves at him to tear their gifts from his hands impatiently, "I have been riding all night with nothing but reindeer for company. This old man would like to hear some singing, so if you want your gifts: you have to sing us a Christmas carol." The patrons shouted their approval at his suggestion. Jamie looked at Adrian with a shrug.

"Ok!" they chorused. They put their heads together for a moment and then went onstage. They both beamed brightly as the lights went down till just a single spotlight was on them as they stood side by side in front of one microphone; warmth glowing around them like a halo. They started, voices pure and indescribably moving, with a perfectly harmonized vocalization of the music to "Oh, Holy Night". Adrian took the lead singing so well with Jaime harmonizing with him with simple vocalizations or harmony notes that completed their song as they sang without music in gospel style; both of them vocalizing between verses

_Oh, Holy Night the stars are brightly shining _

_It is the night of our dear saviors birth_

_Ah, oooh,_

_Long lay the world (long lay the world) in sin and error pining_

_Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth_

_Ah _

_The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices for yonder breaks a new a glorious morn_

_Oh fall on your knees oh hear the angel voices _

_Oh night divine, oh night when Christ was born._

_Oh Holy Night, oh Night divine, oh Holy Night, oh Night divine_

_The trill of hope, the weary world rejoices _

_for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn_

_Oh fall_

Jaime took over, enrapturing her audience with the wonder and joy that was her voice. Her version was different than the well known; her tone was sweet and gentle in her high voice, sounding like a cherub from heaven; obviously surprising the crowd with how she put her own father to shame.

Fall on your knees oh hear the angel voices Oh Night divine, oh night when Christ was born Oh Night divine, oh holy night, oh night divine when Christ was born

_Holy Night when Christ was born_

If the Doctor thought the children looked good together before, he knew it when he saw them together singing. There was a gentle tenderness between them, as they seemed to be singing to each other. The moment passed too quickly as they ripped open their gifts with gleeful expectation: Adrian's a really nice keyboard and Jaime's a little red electric guitar with bright flames- a perfect miniature of her father's guitar.

A fast-pace song came over the loud speakers between the band's sets- James McBane nowhere to be found. Jaime leaped up energetically, grabbing Adrian's hand in eagerness.

"I love this song!" she declared with her eyes shining as she dragged him onto the dance floor.

Once again the air around them sparkled with the outpouring of their energy, their exuberance, their matchless enthusiasm for life as they danced the dance of children with legs and arms flailing and kicking wildly to the foot-stomping rhythm to the shouts of approval from their watching audience.

James clutched his guitar after getting back onstage as he declared loudly, "Now I'd like to invite my baby girl up here to play with me for our last song of the night. How's that sound kiddo?" He said with a dazzling smile to the crowd. Begrudgingly, the Doctor admitted he was kind of charming…and sort of good-looking if you looked really hard… he at least had a really nice smile—Jaime had his smile.

Jaime trembled in excitement; rocketing up onto the stage like a wild squirrel or something with her insurmountable energy she seemed to constantly have. Grabbing the little red electric guitar, she seemed to strip away all the goofy childish qualities—replacing them with a cool confident come-and-get-me-grin and a strong rebellious stance that would make David Bowie proud. She was a true rocker, a petite performer of the highest caliber—you can't teach a kid to be like that; they just are or they're not. There was this presence about her that drew your eyes to her without really knowing why.

"Ready to rock J.C.?"

"Ready Dad!" She said with a cocky smirk as she looked out at the crowd as if she had been doing this her entire life and was amused to suddenly find them watching her.

The music started brightly, the first musical note filling the room, with Dad playing the chord before Jaime joined in with a duel sound. James started singing the verse with his smooth, powerful voice, smiling smugly. Jaime joined in on the chorus, looking out at the crowd with a fierce grin. James turned to his daughter as he sang, obviously singing to her with a look of love and she sang right back at him matching him look for look.

_My old man's backhand used to land hard on the side of my head;_

_I just learned to stay out of his way._

_There been street fights, blue lights, long nights with the world sitting on my chest;_

_It just showed me how much I could take._

_Hard times, back luck; sometimes life sucks._

_That's alright- I'm ok, it ain't nothin' but another day_

_But only God knows where I'd be if you ever stop lovin' me._

_The bank-man, boss-man, the law-man all tryin' to get their hands on me;_

_And I ain't even done a damned thing wrong. _

_I been way laid, freight-trained, short-chained by bigger and badder men;_

_And all I got to say is "bring it on"._

_Hard rain, rough roads; so my life goes._

_That's alright- I'm ok, it ain't nothin' but another day_

_But only God knows where I'd be if you ever stop lovin' me._

_I need you- gotta have you in my life, by my side every day I'm alive_

_Every night that I'm breathing, I'm needing you._

Now came on an instrumental break; Jaime took the lead and played the chords with agile, unerringly fingers with the masterful talent the Doctor heard about from Tegan. She smiled joyfully as she played, enjoying every moment of it.

_That's alright-I'm ok, it ain't nothin' but another day_

_But only God knows where I'd be if you ever stop lovin' me._

_It ain't nothin' but another day._

_But only God knows where I'd be if you ever stop lovin' me._

_Baby never stop lovin me_

_Oh can't you see what your lovin' does to me_

_Don't ever stop lovin' me yeah!_

The crowd went wild when they finished. James clutched his daughter's shoulder proudly as he grinned broadly out at his friends before they passed through the crowd, still glowing with the after affects of being onstage.

James grabbed a stool and sat himself between the Doctor and his daughter. He had sweat pouring down his brow from the lights, yet he still somehow looked attractive and it drove the Doctor mad. James signaled to Pork Chop to send over a bottle of brandy and two glasses; once it was there, he turned to the Doctor with that gorgeous smile of his in an easy grin.

"I never did catch your name, stranger." He murmured with a faint smile playing at his lips, pouring himself and the Doctor a glass of brandy.

"Well, I'm John Smith." The Doctor replied, thinking it might be best to use his alias for these types of situations.

"Well, _John Smith_, it is a pleasure to meet you." He said, handing him the glass of brandy for him; tossing back his glass in one easy gulp.

"Is that _really_ your name?" Adrian asked, suspiciously.

"No, it's not. I'm spy here to spy on things for my country." The Doctor said with a playful grin.

"Ok, _Mr. Spy_, show us your skills. Spy something for us." Adrian replied, sarcastically; turning to Jaime to roll his eyes. She watched the Doctor with amusement playing in her eyes, waiting for his reply. The Doctor looked about the bar with a mock critical look; focusing on a painting of some river in the mountains.

"Look there's a river, I spied. Oop, there; I spied it again. And again." He said, his eyes glancing back and forth from the children's faces and the painting.

Jaime fixed him with a serious frown "You're weird." She had no malice in her at all when she said it. James threw back his head, roaring with laughter.

"Mr. Smith I likes me a man with a good sense of humor!" James chuckled, his eyes twinkling in amusement as he poured himself another brandy and tossed it off; the Doctor's still untouched.

"Sorry mate, you're not my type." The Doctor replied with a shrug. Snickers erupted from the kids at the jab. Even James laughed at it good-humoredly.

"No, no, you're not exactly my type either." James said smiling, his eyes roamed over the bar before fixing on a pretty blonde woman making eyes at him in her short mini-skirt and halter-top, "Now _that_," He said pointing with the hand holding his glass, "_That_, is my type." His eyes fixed her with lustful approval. "If you'll excuse me, Mr. Smith." James said with a wink before heading over to the girl and curling his arm around her waist.

The Doctor was shocked that he would openly pursue a woman in front of his own daughter. The Doctor turned to say something to Jaime to see her laughing with Adrian about something he missed happening on the other side of the bar. He sighed with a sad smile to see that she didn't even notice that her dad left; maybe that's why Adrian was with her— to amuse her enough so she doesn't bother him while he's on the prowl. The mere thought sent the Doctor into a near frenzy.

James didn't reappear for the rest of the night. It was nearing midnight with a thinning crowd and those who were left were getting rather punch drunk. Adrian's head fell onto Jaime's shoulder sleepily as she had an in-depth conversation with the Doctor about her favorite bands. The Doctor smiled warmly at the sight of her tenderly placing his head on the table with her own jacket as his pillow.

The Doctor looked over the rest of the bar with a half-smile until he saw James at the bar with a crowd of young girls around him flirting with him shamelessly. He had a new bottle of brandy, almost finished with him drinking the hard liquor like it was water. The Doctor knew he had to leave soon or he was going to go over and punch James right in his smug face.

"I should be going." He said as he stood up from the table, pouring his untouched brandy back into the bottle on the table.

"Oh really?" Jaime asked, sounding rather disappointed that her new friend had to go.

"Yah I should, I have some work I have to do before getting home to my house." He said giving her a rueful smile. She really was so cute with her best friend.

"Is there someone important you have to get home to?" She asked with a curious look.

"Yah, there's this girl…" The Doctor replied, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably; feeling unease about taking to past-Jaime about present-Jaime. There must be a rule about it somewhere.

"Then you _must_ go!" She declared earnestly, jumping off her stool, "You have to get back to her! No one should be alone on _Christmas_." She grabbed his hands gravely as her eyes shined adamantly.

The Doctor didn't know really what to do at that. He thought it better to leave without any goodbyes, like he usually did. He was putting on his jacket when he felt her hand on his arm. He turned to her, seeing her looking up at him with those dark, liquid eyes staring up at him hopefully.

"You will come back to see me sometime right?" He forgot about how sweet children were when they carried their dreams in their eyes, like she did now.

"Maybe." He said with a smile. She grabbed him in a tight hug, not caring that she just met him; the notion of childhood innocence of just accepting him without question that brought tears to his eyes. He hugged her back, hard, before turning to the night. Once again he wondered what happened to that little girl that turned her into such a jaded young woman. Before he forgot, he popped his head back in with a mad grin "By the way, Carmen means 'song' in Italian— very appropriate I think" he said with a conspirital wink before disappearing into the night.

The Doctor walked slowly along the sidewalk, following the way he came back to his TARDIS. He saw hardly anyone out on the street at so late an hour. He did see though some shady looking people hanging out in front of closed stores talking quietly to each other. Finally, he found his alleyway. The homeless beggars from before must have been chased out because not a single soul was left in that dark side street. The Doctor made his way over, saddened by not having done anything for those people and the thought of returning to the dark, brooding Jaime.

The Doctor entered the TARDIS to see it exactly as he left it with Jaime sitting deeply engrossed by the book she was reading. Looking at her, she looked very much like her younger self. She had the same sweet-looking face when she concentrated on something; the same dark, liquid eyes; and the same aura of wild energy pent up and ready to burst out. She must have noticed him staring because she looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"Oh…nothing." He said, looking away leisurely with a sigh. He glanced back at her when he was sure she wasn't looking and decided to try once more to communicate with her. "You're very much like your mother, you know that?"

"Don't compare me to that freak." She said darkly. The Doctor became indignant at that comment. Tegan was a wonderful and passionate woman, bright and daring; how dare she call the woman who gave her life a 'freak'.

"Your mother was a good woman. Why would you want to be like that self-centered drunkard who doesn't give a damn about you?" She bristled at that, jumping up from her seat, as she stood fiercely toe-to-toe with the Doctor; showing the most emotion he had seen since she first entered the TARDIS with him.

"Don't you dare say that about my father! He loved me." She screamed at him in fury, "You know what? I wish I was with the Master, at least he got things _done_ and wasn't afraid to do what it takes to get what he wanted. _And we have a common enemy_." She sneered with a secretive smirk, gazing back at him in disgust.

The Doctor sputtered, fixing her with a look of utter disbelief as his mouth hung open, "Are you crazy? He killed your mother!"

"I'm glad she's dead! I hated her anyway!" She shouted about adamantly throwing her arms in the air.

"Don't say that." The Doctor said threateningly, his face dark and unreadable.

"You heard me," Jaime said mockingly with a cold smile, "I'm GLAD she's dead! She was a bitch anyway--".

Before the Doctor could stop himself; his hand when flying to her face. He instantly regretted it when she looked at him wide-eyed with shock as she touched the imprint of his hand that blazed on the side of her face— looking so much like her ten-year-old self in that moment. Before the Doctor could apologize, she turned and started walking away.

"Jaime, I'm sorry!" he declared sincerely, trying to catch up with her fast walk.

"Leave me alone!" She answered back, walking faster in hopes of escaping from him. The silent treatment was really aggravating him as he stepped up the pace to keep up with her. She turned into her room and slammed the door right in his face. That was the last straw and momentary fury overcame him.

The Doctor slammed the door open and stormed it, meeting her hostile glare unwaveringly as he got up in her face as she stood beside her bed; hands on hips.

"What is your problem? You are rude, obnoxious, and _completely_ aggravating! I have been nothing but kind to you and you just go and slam that kindness back in my face." He declared; his face contorted in fury. She pointed at her cheek still blazing with the red outline of his hand; her face saying clearly "Is this kindness?"

"My problem?" she sneered as she laced her voice with sarcasm; her eyes glinting as she crossed her arms haughtily, "My problem is that I'm stuck with the man who ruined my life."

"What?" He scoffed in disbelief, "How in the bloody hell did I do that?"

"BECAUSE OF YOU, ALL THE PEOPLE I LOVE ARE DEAD! " She screamed at him, turning away from him so she wouldn't have to look at him any longer.

That explained it. That explained the silence, the cold looks, and the total aversion from his company. He felt a twinge in his heart at her feelings of hatred, but he knew he had to ignore it if he wanted a straight answer.

"How is that even possible? I've only known you for maybe a week or so- and last time I checked I didn't kill anyone."

Her smile was filled with contempt, reminding him so much of the night he first met her. "You ruined my family!" she ranted, "My mother's aunt _died_ because _you_ let the Master go; my mother is dead because of _you_, because my mom met you, my parents spilt." she declared, flustered and losing control of her anger, "You know what? I don't even want to have this conversation with you. Get out!" She said, shoving him angrily towards the door.

The Doctor stood his ground, capturing her hand with his, pulling her closer in the action; refusing to let go as she glared at him with unabashed hatred.

"Answer this one question." He murmured quietly, giving her his intense unblinking stare as he looked at her with a set face, "Why are you traveling with me if you hate me so much?" She took a deep breathe in, letting it out before answering him with amazing honesty and therefore total sincerity

"It was my dying mother's last wish; it's the least I can do for her." She struggled against him, "You can let me go now." She said with another sneer.

The Doctor released her, feeling his heart grow cold. He walked out of her room in dark, brooding mode and headed to his own room to go mourn the loss of his newfound friend.

...

(First song is based on Nsync's version of Oh Holy Night. I do not own this, I just use it and abuse it.)

(Second Song is Montgomery Gentry's If You Ever Stop Loving Me. Once again I'm just using it, I do not own it.)


	5. Chapter 5: The Truth about Jaime

**Chapter 5: The Truth about Jaime**

A shot landed beside Doctor as he hid behind a boulder. It was a few days after the blow up with Jaime; now he was on Caladria helping the Hokiotes fight the Mischian tyranny to win their freedom. The Hokiotes looked like a Minotaur from Greek mythology but with a big dog head instead of a bullhead. They were a gentle race that had been forced into slave labor by the Mischians; a race that looked much like the human race but with suckered tentacles instead of arms and a love for eating insects. Both races would have been considered primitive to even human standards.

The plan was to fight back as best as they could until the Mischians see that they wouldn't be able to enslave them anymore, that they were a free species; during this, the Doctor planned on sneaking into the Mischian Palace and having a little talk with their Emperor. All he had to do was just get a little closer and he would be home free. He was going to go in; risking it all in this dangerous move with no cover. The last thing he remembered was running toward the secret entrance to the Throne Room behind the palace and a sharp pain in his shoulder before all turned to shadows then black.

*******************************************************************************************************************

When the Doctor awoke, he found himself in Jaime's apartment on her bed where they first met with no clue how he got there. All he knew right now was Jaime was stalking somewhere about the apartment; his head felt a little groggy; and his shirt had disappeared and was replaced with a few bandages around the shoulder.

Trying to stand up from the bed, the Doctor felt the blood rushing to his head making him see little black dots as he sat back down dizzily. It was now that he noticed the searing pain in his shoulder.

Lying back in his bunk and closing his eyes, his face stretched with pain, the Doctor touched his bandaged shoulder timidly; pulling it back to see a deep wound and gave it a sniff.

"Glockian root." he mused to himself, crinkling his nose from the bitter smell, "Poisonous, I thought."

He looked about himself at the room, never having seen it in the daylight. It was a dreary room also crammed with book-filled shelves that looked like they were going to collapse at any moment if any more books were even placed within a foot of them.

"When does she get the time to read all these books?" he murmured to himself with furrowed eyebrows.

"She carries them around with her everywhere; even at work." A female voice replied as the door opened.

Standing there, carrying a tray of what smelled like beef stew, was an older woman no older than her late sixties. Even with her graying red curls she looked like a kind beauty with a love for her own cooking if her stout figure told the Doctor anything as she stood with her large starch apron and flowery button-up shirt and skirt.

"Hello dearie. Good to see you up at last." The woman murmured, her Brooklyn accent sounding like music to the Doctor's ears after spending so much time with the British (and Jaime), as she set the tray on the Doctor's lap so he could eat, "Eat up now. You'll need your strength after being asleep for three days."

"_Three days?! _Thank you Ms—?" the Doctor said with a cheery smile, letting the last part drop off when he realized he didn't know the woman's name; let alone her relationship to Jaime. For all he knew, she could be her father's new woman; as awkward as that would be.

"_Mrs. _Johansson, but you can call me Pattie. My husband Pete is the landlord and supervisor of the place. It's thanks to Jaime really that you got better; she did most of the work." She smiled for a moment as she thought about Jaime, "We've known little Jaime since she first moved to America; think of her as our own daughter." Pattie added meaningfully before bustling about the room; tidying it up nonchalantly even though the severe military-like bedroom didn't have a single item out of place.

A little sigh emitted from the foot of the bed as a little head popped up from the sheets of a pig-faced pug. It gave a great yawn and a little stretch before flopping back to sleep wearily.

"Hello there little one." he murmured with a smile as he reached out to scratch the dog behind the ears. As it licked his fingers, it gazed at him with its big watery eyes adoringly, "Never would have pictured her with a pug." he uttered to himself.

"What did you expect her to have: a poodle?" joked the older woman with a faint smile at her own humor. The Doctor shrugged thoughtfully.

"I much rather fancied her having a Doberman or a German Shepard; something that could rip your throat out without a second thought."

Jaime waltzed through the door at that moment like a king in their manor with a porcelain cup in hand stating: "I'm not in a bad mood: I just don't like you" on the side as steam from her tea wafted into the room.

"He lives." she murmured with her eyebrows shooting up in mock surprise as she took a sip with an amused twinkle in her eye, "Glad to see you hold me in such high regard after all we've been through." Even though she was acting like an apathetic creep, she was looking completely drained from lack of sleep; heavy sacks under her eyes with a slight yellow tinge to her skin.

Sitting beside him on the edge of the bed, balancing her tea on her knee, she stared down at the pug with a smirk

"Whadaya know Ko-ko?" she murmured in a funny voice with a grin; making a point to have her hands resting on her lap where the dog could see them in a slow, deliberate motion. The dog, Ko-ko, stared down at her hands expectantly; waiting for them to pet him. They didn't move an inch. Stretching out a paw, it hit Jaime's head with a snort-sneeze; yawning quite cutely as it tried to act nonchalant about it.

"Oh alright Pickles." sighed Jaime as she gave it a good firm scratch at the base of his tail; making his tongue flick out like a reptile searching for bugs, "Oh lizard-tongue!" she said in baby talk with a smile, "Mummy loves lizard-tongue!"

Suffice to say the Doctor was both horrified and oddly fascinated by the gushy talk emanating from his new companion to the small animal. With a big sloppy kiss for his mummy, Ko-ko wiggled back to the Doctor's hand; positioning himself for an ideal spot to get his bum scratched.

"I see Ko-ko's takin' a shine to you." she murmured conversationally with a mild look of surprise; taking another hearty swig from her morning tea that smelled sickeningly sweet from the honey she must have dolloped in there. _Really, she must have dumped half a bottle in there_ the Doctor mused as he wrinkled his nose. "Normally he hates guys; especially around me. He _hates_ to share his mummy."

The Doctor grinned at the word 'share' as if he honestly would be competing for her affections

"Well he is rather cute, I will give you that... in an ugly sort of way." the Doctor admitted with a playful smile as he laid back into the pillows, not taking a sip from the funny smelling stew yet.

"People could say the same for you." she retorted with an eye roll, back to her old cynical self. Ko-ko stared at the Doctor with these big miserable eyes that looked like it was going to cry, staring unsubtly at his hand as it gave a suggestive tap with a paw, "You're pathetic Ko-ko." she drawled, throwing the pug onto its back with an affectionate smile, "You act like no one ever pets you." murmuring as she gave him a tender kiss on the nose or whatever passed for a nose on a pug. It just stared back at her with the same big eyes, not saying a word. Jaime rolled her eyes in return. "Brat dog."

A faint smile played on the Doctor's lips as he watched her with Ko-ko; a gentle scowl on her face as she pretended to be annoyed with the tiny dog. It did him good to see that she wasn't completely disparaging and pessimistic in all aspects on her life; she had something to love and something to love her back. It was almost charming the way she treated that dog like her little child.

Pattie turned around at this moment to see her stew untouched. In moments the sweet gentle woman became a harpy—complete with talons and all. She put her hands on her hips with a stern frown; seeming to be having a little trouble keeping the frown—probably not one to frown at people in the first place.

"Now starvation will not be tolerated. I did not bring you back from the brink of death just to have you starve. Now shut up and eat your soup before it gets cold."

"Or Ko-ko gets to it; he's a terrible moocher." Jaime murmured softly so the woman wouldn't hear her. She seemed in high spirits now she was in her natural environment and she wasn't just roused by a strange man tugging at her necklace way past midnight. Or maybe it was just the tea...

"Believe me, Doc: it's better off if you eat it without a fuss. It's not that bad..." she said, waiting until he had a mouthful, "...if you don't mind the taste of rat." Well that was too much for the Doctor to handle, making him spit out the bit that he had in his mouth with a childish face.

That just made the girl snicker with glee until Pattie started beating her with the hat she was just brushing off when the girl made the comment.

"You watch it little girl or I won't be making you supper anymore!" the woman cried, enunciating each word with a hearty smack.

"I'm sorry Aunt Pattie!" she replied with a humorous laugh to her voice as she covered her head protectively from the blows; running to the door to escape, "I love your cooking really I do! If it makes you happy, I'll eat the whole batch of stew if you like." She beseeched with a charming smile. The woman's heart was easily melted by that smile.

The Doctor, who had been enjoying this display of paternal affection that he didn't often get the luck to experience on his travels (especially towards particularly bratty ones like Jaime), became the woman's new target of attack when she heard a chuckle escape his lips.

"Young man, you gave us quite a scare." she declared firmly as she crossed her arms, "You're lucky young Jaime here was with you. If I wasn't home from my shift at the hospital, you might not have made it." Now the severity was over, she softened with a gentle smile. "She explained all about you not being able to go to an American hospital because your green card was up" _props for Jaime for coming up with that one_ the Doctor thought as the lady babbled, "and you didn't want to be shipped back to England, but you really should get that thing renewed Mr.—"

"—Smith. John Smith." the Doctor said quickly before too many questions could be asked.

"Well, Mr. Smith. You better take good care of Jaime on your travels. If I hear so much as one hint of something inappropriate going on or if she is in the least bit unhappy, I will hunt you down and castrate you with a rusty spoon."

The Doctor's mouth opened wide with shock that this grandma-type woman just said that to him. Guess it's another thing he could check off his list of 'never happening in all 900 years of his life'. He turned to Jaime to see if he could get any sympathy from her, hoping she might explain that no such thing would happen, but she was just leaning against the door frame snickering to herself. Ko-ko wasn't much help either, scratching at his hand to have him scratch him behind the ear.

"Now that's all said, I better be heading off to work. You did quite well last night Jaime; I'll make a medic out of you yet." The tottery older woman said brightly as she scurried out the door of the apartment. Jaime just rolled her eyes while mouthing the words "doubt it" to herself. "If you need anything, Pete's in his apartment down the hall. Goodbye loves! And I expect that soup eaten and in your stomach Mr. Smith. I have my ways of finding out."

At the pleasant clunk of the door, Jaime sighed gratefully: "Thank God that's over." She grinned as she watched the Doctor continue to stare miserably at the soup set before him, "I was just kidding about the rat bit, you know. Honestly. Would I lie to you?"

"If you wanted to see me suffer; yes." Jaime refused to say anything; just throwing him the most charmingly innocent smile as the Doctor timidly took a sip from the stew and found that it was fit for human consumption and actually quite good.

"How did I end up here, might I ask? Last thing I remember, I was fighting the Mischians when I went down." the Doctor murmured as she blew raspberries on the pug's stomach to its delight; snorts of glee emanating from it as it kicked out wildly with fierce snarls in play.

"I saw you being attacked on the monitoring system and sprang to action—don't worry, the Hokiotes won the battle no thanks to you—I dragged you back aboard and I drove us here in the TARDIS of course." she replied with a roll of her eyes at him as if he asked the stupidest question in the history of man, "Though I was off a bit on the time. You really should get that thing checked out. I came back about two weeks after you kidnapped me!" Giving a weary sigh as she covered her face in exasperation, "Aunt Pattie and Uncle Pete were _not_ happy about that; I'll tell you that. I had to listen to them lecture me about 'responsibility' and 'consideration'. Ugh! It's not like I could tell them the truth and say that I met Mum's old traveling buddy who kidnapped me then whisked me off in his spaceship. Besides, I used that excuse last month."

Ignoring all her sarcasm at the end, the Doctor said: "That means you saved me." he grinned from ear-to-ear, "_You_ were _worried_ about me. Why else would you be monitoring me on the screen?" She just rolled her eyes at him with an exasperated sigh when it hit him; the Doctor's eyes widening in shock. "Where did you learn to drive a TARDIS?" She just smiled and refused to say anything so he tried a different tactic, "But what about the TARDIS? Don't you think they'll ask questions when they see it parked in the middle of the sitting room?"

"Unlike you, I actually have a very good parking record." replied Jaime with a smug smirk, "I parked it in the bathroom. All I have to say is 'I don't want them in there' and they don't go in; simple as that." Much to his shame, she was right.

"Oh…" the Doctor replied as he considered it, "Why didn't I think of that before?" he pondered aloud thoughtfully.

"Cause you're a doofus, Doc." Jaime gibed with another smirk before waltzing out of the apartment with the upper hand of this round of battle; little Ko-ko pattering after her devotedly.

*****************************************************************************************************************

The Doctor healed fast in human terms, just a week or so. All the while, Jaime took care of the immediate medical problems of making sure his bandage was clean or anything. She admitted later that this was because Aunt Pattie would have noticed that he had a double heart beat and would have mistaken it for a murmur or something and 'dragged his sorry ass to the nearest clinic where he would've been cut open and revealed as a freak of nature' as she so kindly put it. This was one of those occasions when she was changing his bandage right after he ate his meal of soup, making exaggerated yum yum sounds for Pattie in the room to placate her before quaffing down his medicine for the fever.

"Don't you ever brush your hair?" Pattie declared as she cleared his tray; commenting on his spiky, tousled hair. The Doctor's fingers went instinctively to the said-item with a mildly surprised look.

"What? Is something wrong with it?" Jaime just rolled her eyes at him, shooing the woman out so she could change his bandages in peace without having to worry about her aunt moving things about without her consent.

"Leave him be; he's a lunatic and he's from Europe. That's the latest craze over there." She firmly shut the door with a sigh with a basin of clean water, bandages, and towels to take care of his wounds, "God that woman can get annoying."

"She just cares." replied the Doctor, sitting up so she could easily remove the existing bandages with her scissors.

"Yes, well...a person can only take so much caring in their lives before they start killing people."

"Well don't kill _me_. _I'm_ just an innocent bystander."

With a lover's tenderness she changed his bandages; gently cleaning the wound with the small towels and sterilized water before applying the medication to make it heal. It was moments like this, when she treated him with a thoughtfulness that frightened him, he felt uneasy in such close proximity; especially bare-chested like now.

"You seemed to be well enough to finally get out of bed." she murmured, her fingers probing gently on his bare skin. Catching a whiff of her scent, the Doctor noticed that she smelt of lavender water. Something strange was affecting his breathing. It was probably just the medication that made him so tense.

"Why _did_ you save me, might I ask? You hate me."

"I may hate you," she murmured, still closely inspecting the injury without looking once at him, "but I could not leave you to die like that."

"So you _do_ like me and care about me." he teased with a smirk as she started putting his new bandage on just in case for now. Laughing dryly:

"_Do not_!" she said gruffly, "If you died there then I'd never get the chance to kill you myself." The Doctor didn't buy her rough talk of hating him and wanting to kill him. If she truly hated him, she wouldn't have bothered to spend the three nights he was unconscious beside him in vigil. He had hopes of making friends with her yet. "Now that you're better, you can help me pack stuff into the TARDIS. I told Aunt Pat and Uncle Pete that I was putting some stuff in storage so they wouldn't get suspicious."

All whilst the Doctor was healing, Jaime had been working on packing some of the essentials: books, clothes, books, toiletries, books, a camera, and books—actually a crud-load of books.

"Where do you keep all these books?" the Doctor finally asked when she ordered him to carry the fifth crate load that day into the TARDIS.

"In various rooms and such." she said with a shrug, "I need to bring my music with me, so be a good man and pack all those items neatly into those boxes." said Jaime as she pointed to the wall of music that consumed the spare bedroom. The collection included such things as records, 8-tracks, to CDs.

The Doctor stared at the daunting task with a sigh, "You're just doing this to spite me after saving my life aren't you; forever holding this over my head until you yourself die or I save you?" Jaime frowned a little, thoughtfully; simply pushed out her bottom lip and gave him a blank look.

"Yeah, that's basically the idea."

A half hour later and he was still at the task, sorting through them to make sure that all the different genres were in the right boxes like ordered, when he came across a dusty burned CD with the words "My Music" blazed across the front in marker hidden behind some ancient jazz records. With a shrug, he popped it into the CD player to figure out what box to put it in.

Out of the music machine blared heavy emo lyrics with deep and depressing meanings and words written straight into them. It was enough to make a sober man want to drink and a normal person to start cutting himself because of how tragic life is. The singer, a young woman by the sound, was like a siren with her haunting and hypnotic melodies. Finding himself pulled in by the beautiful and evocative singer, the Doctor listened to the music for a moment—taking in the lyrics before shutting the player off and packing the music in the alternative rock box to go along with the other metal sort of bands.

_What is alternative rock anyway? It's not rock but it's not pop. If anything it's soft rock. But what is soft rock? Why can't they all just be called rock? Very confusing; humans _pondered the Doctor as he moved a large cloth off of what he thought was another stack of records. Turned out, it was an old upright piano.

"Oi! You got a piano in here!" he called out to her with mild surprise. She didn't seem like the piano type; he always thought she was just a guitarist.

Jaime seemed surprised by the appearance of the instrument as well, "_That's_ where it got to! I wondered where that went." Striding up to it, her fingers fiddled with the keys playfully; almost experimentally like a child first discovering the instrument, "Let's see if it's in tune shall we?"

Her playing changed from tinkering to outright playing as her agile unerring fingers moved across the keyboard. The melody was a familiar one to the Doctor, an old classic made famous by Frank Sinatra. The Doctor smiled, very pleased and impressed by her ability to play the song by heart.

When the song itself started, the Doctor sang; imitating the great singer's croon:

_My Funny Valentine,_

_Sweet comic valentine,_

_You make me smile with my heart._

_Your looks are laughable,_

_unphotographable,_

_Yet you're my favorite work of art._

_Is your figure less than Greek?_

_Is your mouth a little weak?_

_When you open it to speak, are you smart?_

_But don't change a hair for me, _

_Not if you care for me._

_Stay little valentine, stay._

_Each day is Valentine's Day._

_Is your figure less than Greek?_

_Is your mouth a little weak?_

_When you open it to speak, are you smart?_

_But don't change a hair for me, _

_Not if you care for me._

_Stay little valentine, stay._

_Each day is Valentine's Day._

Jaime finished off the song with a wonderful flourish that would have made Mozart proud and Beethoven weep. A smile hung about her lips as her fingers trailed the obviously familiar keyboard.

"Good ol' blue-eyes. Wonderful chap, though too much of a lady-killer for his own good. Where did you hear the song?" Jaime looked at him with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes; too much pain in the memory.

"Dad used to sing that to me when I was a kid—it was our special song that he'd sing whenever I was upset or couldn't fall asleep."

"Oh that's horrible! That's a song about an ugly girl—you're anything but ugly!" Jaime rolled her eyes with a disgusted look.

"It's about a guy saying he loves her no matter what she looks like. Besides...Dad knew how much I hated being called 'beautiful' and 'stunning'. Being beautiful doesn't get you far in life. People just expect you to be a supermodel and have no brains or anything at all. Grr." she growled, growing agitated.

"Why don't you sing me something? I bet you have a wonderful voice." the Doctor said, leaving out the part that he heard her sing in the past. He was just wondering what changes might have gone on since she was ten.

A shadow crossed her brow. "No." she replied tersely, flipping the cover back on the piano a little too brusquely as she went for the door.

"No? Why not? You're father who you _idolize_ was a good singer—"

"You leave my father out of this!" she hissed, turning back to him sharply, "I don't sing, so leave it at that." A definite cloud was resting on her brow as her eyes were dark and shuttered. What little headway the Doctor made with her was completely gone now. He knew that when the door to the apartment shut with a slam as she muttered about going out for a walk with Ko-ko, leaving him standing there helplessly and unsure of what to do. Once again, he wondered to himself what happened to her that made her so closed-off to people.

The door hadn't been closed for a blink when it opened again to show a portly gentleman in a faded black leisure suit, his graying hair fluffed around his forehead. He cut an imposing figure, leisure suit aside, with his sharp eyes and serious set face.

"So you're J.C.'s new little friend she's been taking care of? I'm Uncle Pete. Why don't you come over to my apartment and have a little chat now that you're up, you and I, hmm?" It was not a request as the Doctor was shuffled out of the living room and led into the cramped hallway that smelled of feet and something else the Doctor didn't want to think about.

Guided by a hand placed firmly on his shoulder, the Doctor was then led down the hall past two doors until he came to the very end of the building. _So this is how she plans to kill me...I thought she was joking but I guess she wasn't. Maybe she just put her uncle up to it..._ the Doctor mused darkly to himself as he tried to figure out how she planned to do it; what method would she like. From the looks of the guy taking him there, he guessed it would be something old-fashioned that involved his knees being broken with a baseball bat.

Uncle Pete simply unlocked the door and took him into the living room, shoving him into the overstuffed leather sofa before sitting across from him on an old worn red armchair that looked like it survived Hiroshima. For what felt like ages, the man simply scrutinized him in silence so intently he felt as if his thoughts were being read. If he could, he would have known that the Doctor thought that the suit he was wearing was rather ghastly and should have been left in the 70's where it belonged. Thank goodness he couldn't. Finally the man spoke again in his rough, grumbly voice.

"How do you know J.C.?" he stated, looking him square in the eye as if he could sense if he was lying.

"Old family friend," _of her mother's_ he added mentally as he cheerfully smiled.

"I've never seen you around the building before. I think I would have remembered a young British man running about with our J.C."

"Well...I knew her family before they moved to America, you know. The whole 'she used to live just outside of London before she was six' thing." he replied quickly, thinking fast before the man asked too many questions that he couldn't answer without revealing himself.

"So what are you're intentions with J.C.?"

"I—err—want to travel with her...and stuff... take her to see new places and such..." The man's eagle eyes were starting to unnerve the Doctor quite a bit.

"What sort of new places might I ask?" the man murmured, leaning back casually; too casually to be taken serious by the panther-like stare he was giving him.

"Well... France in nice this time of year... maybe see London properly...oooh! Belgium's nice! She'd like Belgium! Though maybe she would prefer Ireland...she does have a lot of books on Gaelic. Maybe she would like to test her skills out on the locals..." the Doctor rambled at breakneck speed, leaving the man in the dust.

"That's quite enough thank you." Pete said sharply, resting one ankle on his knee while placing his fingers together to make a chapel, which he pointed at the Doctor, "I want you to know that you are one in a very long line of gentlemen who have paraded in and out of her life. I still take each and every new beau very seriously. As J.C.'s new—"

"Wait, you think I'm her boyfriend?" the Doctor stammered in disbelief, knowing for sure that this wasn't about revenge killing; just some good old-fashioned family intimidation to the new guy.

"Yes. Aren't you her new boyfriend?"

"Heavens no! What, do you think I'm daft? She hates me farther than she could throw me."

Pete's face softened, in fact his whole demeanor softened as he relaxed, "Oh thank God. I couldn't keep that up much longer." he said with a smile, "Sorry about the inconvenience it's just that when J.C. came rushing in here in a panic with a skinny guy in a tight suit thrown on her back—saying something about walking in the wrong neighborhood—and that he had to stay at her apartment, in _her_ bed so she could keep an eye on him...we didn't know what to think. To tell you the truth, we were rather impressed that some man even got through the threshold. What makes you think that she hates you?" Pete asked, totally changing subjects while offering the Doctor a canister of Jelly Babies; liking the other man now that he knew he was no threat.

Taking one, the Doctor said: "Well for one she told me straight to my face that she hates my very existence and that she wanted to kill me for herself and she has this really dour sort of mood about me. I swear she's going to hate me for the rest of my life if she doesn't kill me in my sleep. Why is it, I just try to be nice to her and she just throws it back in my face?" Pete just smiled in return, nodding sagely.

"You alienate her the harder you try, kid. You must harass her with kindness but not the over-the-top kind; little stuff like asking her what she wants to watch on television or what station would she like to listen to in the car—thoughtful stuff." He smiled as he leaned forward with a conspiratorial wink, "But you must be careful not to make it obvious 'cause she's as smart as a fox. Any hint of your plot and she'll hightail it. Got to be easy about it...real nice and slow..."

"It sounds like you're giving me advice on how to tame a wild creature rather than how to get Jaime to at least tolerate me." joked the Doctor with a big grin, chuckling to himself.

"Women are nothing but wild creatures needing to be tamed." The man retorted with a hearty laugh. "Don't mind her tough act; she's been through a lot in her life. She finds it hard to get close to anyone anymore after all those tragedies that happened that would bring a normal, sane man to his knees." This intrigued the Doctor; this might just be the thing that answered his questions about her past.

"You want to see something?" Pete asked, leading the Doctor to his study just off the living room; a conglomeration of books and papers on the desk while the rest was almost clean to the point of O.C.D. The walls were covered with posters—musicals, concerts, bands; all of them with Jaime's name scrawled as one of the main contributors.

"Is that..." the Doctor asked, closely inspecting a poster of a dark female figure after slipping his thick black-rimmed glasses on, "..._Jaime_?" Pete smiled at him, beaming with pride as he too looked at the poster of a young female artist with the words "Young Rising Star" splashed in big bold letters under the band's name of "Mariska Rasmussen". He was lost in some memory as he said:

"Yes, she was but sixteen when she started hitting it big. Give me a moment...I know I've got it here..." he rummaged in his file cabinet for a moment before pulling out a thin laminated soft-cover book, "This is her lyric book that was sold at her concerts. She drew the illustrations to go along with the songs. She was very multifarious when it comes to talent: singing, playing instruments; she also was a wonderful artist. Go ahead—take a look."

Flipping though the book, the Doctor was flabbergasted by the intricate details put into each sketch that corresponded to the lyrics.

"These are good!" he murmured softly in mild surprise. Pausing for a moment to read the lyrics themselves, he recognized them as ones he heard before, "I know these! These are the ones on her CD!"

"Yes." sighed the older gentleman ruefully, shaking his head miserably, "She was going to sign herself to a major recording company when..." the other man turned away for a moment with downcast eyes, "...when The Incident happened." This surprised the Doctor; he hadn't heard of this incident, though honestly he hadn't heard anything about her past besides the information Tegan told him and his momentary meeting with her past self.

"What incident?" he asked, cocking his head with raised eyebrows.

"The Incident that lost her voice." the man said mysteriously, turning away from the Doctor after carefully taking the book from his hands to stow it away again.

"Wait a minute, I've heard her talk—so how could she lose her voice?" Pete just grimaced at him over his shoulder, busying himself as he tenderly replaced the book back in its place.

"She lost her voice to sing, Mr. Smith." He shook his head wearily; rubbing his eyes, "She had barely gotten over James' death when..." a sad sigh escaped his lips as he grabbed a large photo album off the nearest bookshelf, "She was just twelve years old when he died." He paused over a picture of a happy young girl in pigtail waving to the camera; not much older than the girl the Doctor had met, "Just. Twelve. Years. Old. She was the one who found him. Poor kid." the man added conversationally.

"He was still young, how did he die?" _So, she not only lost her brother as a kid; she lost her dad_ _too, and because of his lies she thought her mother dead all these years. No wonder she's so messed up. _Leaning close, Pete whispered:

"Drug overdose. Thank God the idiot had enough sense to hide the evidence before she found him. He was an insatiable man, James; always boozing, doing drugs, having girls hanging around him. It's a wonder J.C. didn't inherit more than his talent." He paused for a moment, "No I lie, she does have an insatiable personality. It comes out with minor obsessions. Thankfully it has evolved itself into reading books instead of doing drugs or having unsafe sex with countless men. I thank God every day for that." Continuing, he said:

"It used to be music before The Incident. She was always such a happy and vivacious character before The Incident. She used to go around singing everywhere. She'd go to the mall and be singing, go down the hall and she'd be singing; always singing. I remember once she told me that music is an outburst of the soul; that it was like water and like water no one could live without it. Even as babies we're exposed to it; the first thing we hear is the sound of our mother's heartbeat."

_Good God this man could prattle on! I just have to be vigilant until he gets to the part where he tells me more about how James died or what exactly is this 'incident'._

"After her father's death, she didn't have anyone to turn to. I let her stay in her apartment as long as she promised to stay in school and get her diploma; I, myself a child who grew up in foster care, didn't want that little kid to go through the horrors I went through. Her friend Adrian spent a lot of time around here. I truly believe that she would have gone off the deep end if he wasn't around to keep her standing. Lovely boy; very handsome with a gentle heart. Whenever she got into trouble, I filled in as Dad and Pat filled in as Mom even though we really weren't relations—she just calls us Uncle Pete and Aunt Pattie. Even with our and Adrian's support, I don't think she ever got over his death. If you listen to her work, you realize that he is an intimate part of the girl, his music constantly in her thoughts."

The Doctor softened a little, listening to this man rattle on about a girl who he loved very much and obviously adored with his every being. He probably didn't often get to boast about her to anyone who would listen but he found a willing customer in the information starved Doctor just wanting to understand his new companion and maybe connect the dots between Point A and Point B. With this new information, the trail was definitely becoming clearer.

With a hug, the Doctor was lead back to the apartment before he got lost along the way. Pausing outside the door, the Doctor turned to Pete.

"I can see how you might have misconstrued our relationship Pete, but Jaime and I are nothing more than travel companions. And to re-answer your question about what my intentions are with her: I want to make sure she's always smiling."

"And for that you have my respect. Take care of her will ya?"

"I will."

Entering the apartment, the first thing the Doctor saw was Jaime splayed out on the couch with yet another book—_where does she keep getting these?_—with Ko-ko laying across her stomach; snoring louder than a blow horn.

"How do you sleep with that thing?" the Doctor murmured as he gazed in wonder as he pondered how such a tiny thing can make such a big noise.

"I set it on vibrate of course." Jaime replied with a completely straight face without looking up from her book; this one a philosophy book by Socrates. The Doctor stood there blankly, not sure if she was joking or not. It was hard to tell with her; especially when she was doing her tongue-in-cheek-dry-humor-sarcasm. Then he didn't know _what_ to think about anything she said.

"I think I'm gonna pop off for a kip I think." The Doctor said, acting nonchalant as he gestured toward the TARDIS' general direction with an uncaring finger.

"Whatever." Jaime replied with a shrug, "Be back before dinner time so Aunt Pattie doesn't ask any questions." The Doctor turned to go, thinking he hit home free. "And Doctor..." He froze, thinking he was caught, "Don't think of running off with my stuff."

"Wouldn't _dream_ of it." he replied with a weak smile over his shoulder, moving again towards the bathroom door.

"Sayeth the Serpent." she sneered as he slunk into the small bathroom and closed the door firmly shut. Pivoting on his heels, he gazed up at his TARDIS lovingly.

"Hello old friend." he sighed, stroking his fingers tenderly on her surface before stepping inside. Manning the controls, he set the coordinates for a very specific time. "Come on girl, if ever there was a time for you to get this right; now is the time."

****

The song that Jaime wrote is based of Frank Sinatra's version of "My Funny Valentine". I do not own the song nor the lyrics. I don't even own Frank Sinatra. If I did, I would keep him in my pocket and make his croon sweet music to me. That's just me. Since I can't, I just keep him on my Ipod.

Thanks to anyone who actually takes the time to read this fic and my strange little comments. So far I have two people who have me on alert so I feel honored. Thank you again.


	6. Chapter 6: The Incident

**Chapter 6: The Incident**

Stepping out of the TARDIS, finding himself inside an old abandoned warehouse, the Doctor looked about with a curious look. It surprised him that no matter what time period, New York City never seemed to change. Even when he visited the place with Martha back in the 1920's, it had this decaying charm about it—a certain stench that never seemed to go away from memory.

Quick pace out of the warehouse, memorizing its location in his mind, the Doctor found himself a newspaper of the correct date (March 14, 2000) and according to the sun setting above him, it was close to the time he needed to get there. Now all he had to do was find that club called "The Spotted Dog" and he would be home free.

Asking kindly from a random person he found on the street, he received decent directions and was there in no time at all. The club itself seemed rather spiffy with its mock-gothic architecture to give it that 'old world' feel to it; windows totally nonexistent on its black front. Outside, a large line was formed halfway down the street. It mostly consisted of young adults and older teenagers dressed in dark gothic wear—complete with liquid black eyeliner and black nail polish. It amused him for some reason.

Striding up purposefully, putting on the act of someone very important and very busy, the Doctor flashed his psychic paper at the head bouncer who eagerly let him in. Checking it afterwards, the Doctor found that the man thought he was a representative of some record company. The inside of the club was jam-packed about the dance area in front of the stage (most likely used for moshpits if the music expected to be playing said anything).

At the edge of this dancing area were a collection of tables sprawled about for people to sit and drink leisurely from their drinks of choice. Spotting a lonely-looking young lad—who must have been no older than seventeen—reading a familiar lyric book. The Doctor made a bee-line for that table and sat down with a cheerful grin.

"So you a fan of the band or something?" said the Doctor in a friendly conversational way. The boy seemed startled at first to have some random stranger come out-of-the-blue and start a conversation with him but from the look on his face, he was asked about something he held dear.

"Yeah." he admitted, turning faintly crimson, "I just love Marishka's voice. She has this true emotion behind her words that anyone can relate to." handing the Doctor his lyric book to browse, "You can really feel the pain and anguish of her life, man." The Doctor's hand trailed along the cover, tracing the outline of the words "Marishka Rasmussen" with a lazy fingertip.

"This is my first time here. What's she all about?" The Doctor tried to make this last part sound as nonchalant as possible, not wanting to scare the boy with his eagerness to know of Jaime's past—not that the boy would know her by that name. The boy brightened, taking on an informed voice.

"Marishka is a vampire rocker, turned a few centuries ago. Her sire was killed not long afterwards. When her humanity was taken away, she felt like she lost everything until she met Andrei—a mortal man destined to save her soul. Her problem though is she loves him so much that she doesn't want to turn him for fear of him hating her like she hated her sire. She doesn't want him to live the life she must live. It's so Romeo and Juliet, man." Pulling a comic book out from his pile of Marishka merchandise, the boy smiled proudly, "Here read through this. It gives the complete back story to her life."

What the boy said was true. In beautiful detail Marishka's life was outlined with every heartache and painful experience. Recognizing the style as that of Jaime's from the lyric book, the Doctor was very impressed by her skill. The intricate details she put into a single panel blew him away—making him forget for a moment that during this time she was just sixteen. The drawing of Andrei looked vaguely familiar, though he couldn't figure out why.

"At the bottom of some of the pages, you'll see song titles in italics. Those are where her songs she wrote fit into her life story."

"I think I shall have to buy my own." drawled the Doctor, deeply enthralled by the piece of art. As he walked back from the counter crammed with things from lyric books, comic books, and signed photos; the lights dimmed. The show was about to start.

The already gloomy atmosphere of the club became positively dusky and hazy—almost eerie with the heavy smell of incense and cigarettes in the air. A fog rose from the stage as a single light emerged in the darkness, lighting the grand piano center stage. A dark figure, half-shadowed in darkness, lit only by the watery glow of the blue light hovering overhead—causing more shadows than anything else. The darkened person was definitely female, the Doctor guessed, by the small frame, rounded shoulders, and delicate figure. The long dark locks of her hair flowed in a billowy wave down her back. What caught the Doctor's attention most was the beauty of her music as her fingers flew deftly across the board in a flurry of eerie passion. Her voice, hauntingly beautiful in its sad refrain—calling to the Doctor's own inner pain—was too moving to describe as she transfixed her audience.

_I'm so tired of being here, suppressed by all my childish fears._

_And if you have to leave, I wish that you would just leave._

'_Cause your presence still lingers here and it won't leave me alone._

_These wounds won't seem to heal. This pain is just too real._

_There's just too much that time cannot erase._

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears,_

_When you screamed I'd fight away all of your fears,_

_And I held your hand through all of these years_

_But you still have a hold over me._

_You used to captivate me by your resonating life,_

_Now I'm bound by the life you left behind._

_Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams,_

_Your voice it chased away oh the sanity in me._

_These wounds won't seem to heal. This pain is just too real._

_There's just too much that time cannot erase._

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears,_

_When you screamed I'd fight away all of your fears,_

_And I held your hand through all of these years_

_But you still have a hold over me._

_I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone._

_But though you're still with me, I've been alone out of love._

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears,_

_When you screamed I'd fight away all of your fears,_

_And I held your hand through all of these years_

_But you still have a hold over me._

_Me oh. Me oh._

The song moved the Doctor unexplainably. He felt so…heartbroken…by her performance that it took a moment in his mind to register that it was Jaime actually singing and not someone else. He had to know the reference in her life where this song stemmed from; it was too beautifully tragic to be made up on a whim.

Flipping though the comic book, asking the name of the song ("My Immortal") from the young starry-eyed boy beside him, the Doctor found where in the character's past the song fit in. According to the comic book, "My Immortal" was written as homage to Marishka's sire that turned her into a vampire, but looking at the drawing the Doctor could tell who the song was really about. What with his intense green eyes and pitch black hair, the resemblance was uncanny. But that still didn't explain why she gave up singing if her father died four years before this day.

The concert went on, showcasing Jaime's unbeatable talent. The difference between that little ten-year-old girl and sixteen-year-old-woman child was immense. For one thing, there was a ferocity in Jaime's performance; her cocky confidence doubled now she knew the power of her beauty. And oh was she beautiful. Dressed in a completely gothic ensemble made of black jeans, black knee-high boots, and a black and red brocaded bodice; she cut a stunning figure of youth. Surprisingly, she made the heavy black eyeliner and black nail polish alluring, coupled with her blood red lipstick and pale skin. Most surprising of all was who Andrei actually was.

Seeing him leap onstage, the Doctor instantly recognized "Andrei" as Adrian—Jaime's long time best friend. No longer was he the shy little boy who tagged along obediently in his friend's heels, commenting here and there in conversation in a soft mouse-like voice. Now he was as fierce as she, even more so in his duet with her as he played the guitar. A perfect match if there ever was one. The chemistry between the two of them as they sang to each other—the very passion in their voices—was overwhelming. At one point, she pulled away from her keyboard and sang directly to him and "almost bit" him. The crowd went nuts. Even the boy beside him squealed gleefully.

"Is everyone having fun out z'ere tonight?" Jaime called over the crowd with a playful smirk; she was just eating up this attention. The audience screamed back a unanimous "YES!" with energetic enthusiasm.

"How about ve sing one last song, yes? A personal favorite of mine—"Everybody's Fool"." The crowd went nuts once more as Adrian whipped out his guitar again to play for her with a smile. Even the boy seemed excited by this song.

"What's so special about the song?" asked the Doctor, shouting over the crowd to be heard. The boy laughed back:

"You really are a noob! "Everybody's Fool" is the only song that has no setting in her back story and she's only sung it one time before. The original title was "Doctor's Song" I heard, but that's probably just a rumor." The boy shouted, turning back eagerly to the performance. That peaked the Doctor's interest.

The song started of a fast Spanish style guitar solo, turning into an out-and-out rock song. Jaime danced about the stage—owning it totally as she sang her song with a bitter sarcastic smirk.

_Perfect by nature, icons of self-indulgence._

_Just what we all need: more lies about a world_

_That never was and never will be._

_Have you no shame, don't you see me._

_You know you've got everybody fooled._

_Look here he comes now, bow down and stare in wonder._

_Oh how we love you, no flaws when you're pretending._

_But now I know he never was and never will be._

_You don't know how you betrayed me._

_And somehow you've got everybody fooled._

_Without the mask, where will you hide?_

_Can't find yourself; lost in your lie._

_I know the truth now. I know who you are_

_And I don't love you anymore._

_It never was and never will be._

_You don't know how you betrayed me._

_And somehow you've got everybody fooled._

_Never was and never will be_

_You're not real then you can't save me._

_Somehow now you're everybody's fool._

The song explained everything about her bitter feelings towards him when they first met. The last note hung in the air, much like the bitter scowl on Jaime's crimson lips. This scowl reminded the Doctor very much of his Jaime but there wasn't that tragic sadness in the corner of her eyes; that private pain. And he still hadn't found out why she no longer would sing. Unfortunately, he didn't have long to find out.

Standing at the edge of the stage was an ordinary enough looking lad with mousy brown hair and ordinary brown eyes, but there was something off about him. Perhaps it was the maddened twinkle in his eyes or the strange smile hovering over his lips, but as he heard her sing he became more restless. When Jaime went to hug Adrian as they normally did as the boy informed the Doctor, the strange fan at the foot of the stage pulled the gun from his jacket and fired. The Doctor shot out of his chair and towards the stage as soon as he saw it.

A loud BANG echoed the small hall as the sound of the gun went off like a cannon. Before anyone could move to stop him, a shower of crimson erupted across the stage. Adrian had been shot dead. Most would assume that a person standing so close to him when he was shot, and who knew him so well, would be hysterical with fear. This was not so with Jaime.

As the crowd moved to subdue the guy, knocking away the gun from his hands and holding him down until the cops could come, Jaime leapt off the stage and snatched the gun from the floor—pointing it at the offender with a cold glare. Pushing to the front of the crowd, the Doctor boldly stepped between the man and Jaime to block her shot.

"You don't want to do this." A glimmer of a dark smirk twinkled at the corners of her mouth as she continued to stare over his shoulder at the man she so wished to seek vengeance on in her maddened state.

"Yes. Yes, I believe I do." The Doctor had to hand it to her; she never once broke character in all this—still speaking with that thick Russian accent. It was time to appeal to the little girl he knew once upon a time.

"Is that what he'd want?" he said softly, looking her straight in the eye, "Do you think he'd want you to throw your life away just to seek petty vengeance?" There was a glimmer of hesitation in her eyes, enough to let the Doctor know he was in the right place. "Come on. Give me the gun." He held his hand out for her to hand the gun over. Reluctantly, she placed it in his palm before pushing past him to confront her attempted attacker.

"Why? Why did you do it?" she demanded, grabbing him by the collar. The man looked back blankly as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"Because I love you." he said simply, "Ever since I first heard you sing, I've loved you. I just knew I'd be so much better for you than him." The poor lad was delusional, thinking she was a real vampire. It almost made the Doctor feel somewhat sympathetic for him. It had the opposite effect on Jaime.

"You fell in love vit me because of my voice?" she repeated with a shake of her head, "z'en let it be known z'at never again shall I sing as long as I shall live." A loud shout of anguish erupted as the crowd tried to get at the man for ruining such a good act, pushing the Doctor to the door with his comic book in hand. It was time for him to go anyway now that he knew.

The outside was still rather cold from the melting snow as spring approached slowly. Inside, the Doctor felt numb. He witnessed the murder of such a good person—his life snuffed out like a candle in the wind just because of one rabid fan who took make-believe way too seriously. With a heavy heart he reviewed what he knew of Jaime's life: her brother died a horrific death when she was six, thought her mother was dead for years, her dad died when she was twelve from drugs, and her mother was murdered in front of her not even a few months ago during their reunion. Add the death of her best friend, and most likely lover, after she sang the Doctor Song, and he inadvertently had a hand in almost every death in her life. And it killed him inside.

****

The first song was "My Immortal" by Evanescence. I do not own the song. I wish I had that talent.

The second song is "Everybody's Fool" by Evanescence. I also don't own it. It's where I got the title of the story because that's what inspired this whole story in my head. If you think back to Jaime's thoughts about the Doctor before she actually met him, it fits perfectly. Yeah I know, my mind's kind of twisted. Actually, I have a whole backstory into each song on the album Fallen to this story, I just felt these two captured this story more perfectly.

P.S. The mentioned duet between Jaime and Adrian is "Bring Me To Life" from Evanescene as well. So sorry I couldn't fit it in.

P.S.S. I won't be able to post anymore of the story for a while. In the middle of moving. Please comment on the story. I desperately want feedback to know if this story is even worth continuing. I love it, I do, it's just...I wonder if other people connect with it like I do.


End file.
